Drayson electric racer smokes a new record

Nino Marchetti EARTHTECHLING, 22nd October 2016

Not only did onlookers get to take in a functioning model of the Infiniti Emerg-E luxury hybrid as well as seeing Jaguar's XJ_e plug-in hybrid engineering research vehicle, but they were also able to partake in witnessing Drayson Racing Technologies set a new record for electric cars with its B12/69EV electric racer.

We've covered the B12/69EV before, noting back in February this car is easily one of the fastest electric racing vehicles out there. Its four axial flux Oxford YASA motors, capable of producing 850 horsepower to the rear wheels on the drop of a dime, were rated to provide a top speed of almost 200 MPH and a 0 to 60 time of around three seconds.

All of this oomph under the racing EV's hood, so to speak, allowed the B12/69EV, which is built around a Lola LMP1 chassis, to climb the notorious 1.16 mile hill at Goodwind in a swift 53.91 seconds. This not only set the new record for EVs on this course, but also placed the car eleventh overall in the standings.

Drayson Racing Technologies was started by Paul and Elspeth Drayson to focus upon the development of sustainable green technology in racing. Among their endeavors in this arena they developed and raced a GT3 race-car running running on bio-ethanol fuel, a "flex-fuel" Le Mans Prototype (LMP1) race car designed to run on both bio-ethanol fuel and conventional race fuel and now the Lola Drayson B12/69 EV.

The race car is powered by next generation lithium nanophosphate battery cells that are only able to provide enough juice for 15 minutes of racing time. To counter that, the Lola-Drayson is recharged by a wireless induction system in the pit garage. Induction works when coils inside the car pick up a charge from below the road surface.

The folks at Drayson noted to the press that they felt their electric racer performed without a hitch during Goodwind, showcasing the "solid reliability" of the vehicle's powertrain. They were also happy with the range they got out of the vehicle's battery and the performance of the wireless charging system.

"The car was just stellar today," said Paul Drayson in a statement. "As the track dried out and we could use all the torque from the electric drive, our times kept improving. I am delighted that we have achieved this record on our first public outing with the car."